Dear Beloved parishioners,
Let me get the change that will effect many of you right away.
At the recommendation of Archdiocesan Officials, the church will be completely locked for the next several days once the day’s Masses are over. There are credible threats of groups of people planning on protests at churches around the country on the evening that Roe vs. Wade is overturned. (that would be today…) I will let you know via this same missive when you will have your usual access to the church we have enjoyed since the beginning of the pandemic.
And they also advise us that there might be possible disruptions by protesters to our services. Ushers have been instructed on how to handle them (to not do anything except call the police). I would ask that you do the same. So that, should protesters arrive here, and try to disrupt Mass, we will simply stop, and pray until the police come and they are removed… (many of these groups are ‘filming their protests live’ – and hope for more attention than they deserve, so as to post on whatever social media outlet they wish, etc.) We will offer non-violent resistance and simply pray…
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So, after 50 years, a ruling that started the Pro-Life movement within society during my Sophomore year in high-school, has been over turned. Pundits and writers much smarter and more eloquent than I will be writing about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and the implications, both moral and legal, in the days to come. And if precedent has anything to tell us, the source from which you hear and read about this will have a great deal of influence over the ‘take’ they have on this decision. I suspect our Archdiocesan website/St. Louis Review will have a plethora of solid information to guide us as we move forward in a post-Roe world.
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And, what I believe is this: Somewhere up in heaven, my mother is smiling and cheering. Mom had been in the vanguard of ladies in the St. Louis area who, at the original Roe vs. Wade decision, knew that things would need to happen on the ground. And so, armed only with a high school education and a fierce compassion for pregnant mothers and unborn children, she and her friends staffed crisis hotlines, organized infant clothing drives, copied and passed on articles to whomever she thought needed to read them, wrote Senators and Representatives, and did whatever they could to create a culture of life here in the St. Louis area. Enjoy this day in heaven, mom. It is the fruits of a long labor you and countless pro-Life people have fought to bring into being. And then get busy with more intercessory prayer, because this is the beginning of the next stage of the battle on earth…
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Finally, a bit from the Archbishop about ALL THINGS NEW…
As suspected, there are a lot of rumors that are floating around the All Things New planning initiative in the Archdiocese. So much so, that the Archbishop decided to do a little ‘fact checking’. I am not sure how many of you saw this. If not, it is worth the read. If so, you may skip to the song of the day…
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Many of us are familiar with the role of the fact-checker. When claims are made by political candidates, the fact-checker does the research to determine whether they’re true. And it often turns out that the claim is only partly true. In this article, I’d like to play the role of fact-checker for some things that are being said about the All Things New pastoral planning process.
Claim: “I heard that Pittsburgh went from 188 parishes down to 57, and we’re working with the same group.”
It’s true that that’s what happened in Pittsburgh. And it’s true that Pittsburgh worked with the Catholic Leadership Institute, and so are we. But Pittsburgh’s plan was Pittsburgh’s plan, and our plan will be our own. The Catholic Leadership Institute is here to help us fashion our vision and plan, not the other way around.
Claim: “They already know the plan.”
This is, perhaps, the most important rumor that people hear. I will not tire of reiterating: We do not already have a plan!
We know what the demographics look like; we know what the sacramental and financial trends look like. What we’re discerning is what our infrastructure could look like, and what our mission should look like.
Some preliminary models will be prepared over the summer as a starting point for conversation. But then these preliminary models will be brought to the priests and the faithful through listening sessions so we can hear from people’s hearts. The conversations we have will clarify what we need to prioritize, and how we will invest our time and energy moving forward.
Claim: “All Things New is trying to destroy the tradition of the Church.”
We’re not trying, in any way, shape or form, to change what the Church believes. Quite the opposite: What the Church believes is the foundation upon which we build! All Things New will not change the nature of the Mass, or of the priesthood, or of the sacraments, for example.
What we’re looking at is the way parishes are structured in this sense: where they’re located, how priests are distributed among them, how parish programming supports evangelization.
What we believe will not change. How we operate needs to.
Claim: “Demographics are inevitable.”
Let’s call this “demographic fatalism.” If we just look at the numbers, they’re declining. If we simply project those numbers into the future, it looks like the decline will continue to get worse.
But consider just one counter-example. In the early 1800s Catholicism in France was in demographic freefall. By the late 1800s there had been a tenfold increase in the number of priests and religious sisters! Of course, there were many factors in this turnaround. But the fundamental elements were the grace of the Holy Spirit, and individuals cooperating with that grace.
We need to view our own demographic trends with human realism, and we are. But we also need to view them with faith in what the Holy Spirit can do, and what can happen when we cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Many things are genuinely unknown at this point of the process.
What often happens, however, is that those unknowns get filtered through our fear, sadness and anger. That filtering process turns uncertainty into rumor — and rumors are not the Lord’s work!
So here’s my plea: Let’s resist the rumor mill! And here’s my proposal: Every time we experience fear, sadness and anger — which we all do! — let’s pivot on them in a different direction. Let’s make them occasions for turning to the Lord, and asking for His guidance.
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And the song of the day – in honor of the verdict from Dobbs vs. Jackson, a song about the value of each life and its potential by
Matthew West: – Untold
blessings,
fr bill